Acceptance of any contribution, gift, grant or other physical item is at the discretion of the Topsham Public Library. The Topsham Public Library will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the library. With regard to gifts of artwork, photographs or other personal property: such items become the property of the Topsham Public Library and will be used, sold, stored or discarded as it sees fit.
No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.
The Topsham Public Library will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisors to assist them in the process of making their gifts.
The Topsham Public Library will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities under the terms outlined in the Topsham Public Library’s Financial and Investment Policies. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Director or Board of Trustees of the Topsham Public Library.
Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for the Topsham Public Library.
The Topsham Public Library will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting IRS substantiation requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Topsham Public Library.
The Topsham Public Library will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Topsham Public Library will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.
The Topsham Public Library will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Topsham Public Library.